then the u.s. asked to use turkish soil to enter iraq. turkey said no, but appealed unsuccessfully to help with the invasion. it seems turkey has a big problem on its southeast border. for decades, they battled kurdish minorities that want greater autonomy or even independence. the kurds are the world's largest nation without their own state. with saddam removed, turkey fears the possible breakup of iraq along ethnic and religious lines. in the north, iraq's kurds could control vast oil riches. they might then spire turkey's kurdish areas to join th under one flag. within turkey, the ongoing civil war has forced millions to flee to its western cities, just accelerating rural to urban migration. the violence highlights another trend as well: turkey's human rights record. unfortunately, turkey has an abysmal human rights record. torture is all too commonly used. people are all too commonly held for political reasons. and there has been a lot of oppression towards intellectuals, journalists and others who speak out on issues that the turkish